Lost in Writing
by dappledsunlight
Summary: In a tragic AU Harry is left with no one, and is hiding out in a shack. However, much to his surprise the Marauders Map decides to talk back and he ends up having a conversation with the Marauders of the 70's. Originally written by Of-butterbeer-and-frogs
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: Hi I've taken this story on from Of-butterbeer-and-frogs so Of-butterbeer-and-frogs owns these first 3 chapters, along with the general plot line. The story was originally called Down the Rabbit Hole. Anyways Enjoy!**_

**_Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related things belong to JK Rowling, and these first three chapters belong to Of-butterbeer-and-frogs. I am gaining no profit from this story._**

_He was running. The green field, stained red with innocent blood, was a blur beneath his feet. He ran for freedom, for hope, for peace. But most of all, he ran for those who could not. Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Tonks…the list went on forever. With a pang of deep sadness, he realized that Ron and Hermione were now on that list. The sight of their mangled bodies rose before his mind's eye…_

"Stop that_," he told himself firmly, slowing his frantic footsteps to a walk. "_Don't think about that_." He turned into a building and went inside. Looking around at the high stone walls and elegantly-carved oak doors, his despair only deepened._

"The only home I've ever had_," he thought as he ran his hands along the smooth granite. "_And now it's almost completely destroyed_."_

_He sighed and made his way to the Great Hall. Pushing open the doors, he expected to see a herd of reporters waiting for him. Instead, he was met with a terrible sight._

_Every single body that had been out on the battlefield a few hours ago stood facing him. Numbly, he noticed Ron and Hermione among them, faces drawn into snarls as their claw-like fingers scratched at the air._

_Mind reeling from shock, he managed to think only one word: _"Inferi."

Harry woke with a muffled yell, sweat pouring into his eyes. Shaking, he got up and went to the little kitchen in the run-down shack and fixed himself a cup of tea.

"That's the third night in a row," he mumbled tired to himself as he poured the water over a teabag. "This has got to stop."

Head bowed over the steaming mug, his thoughts strayed to his dream. He had been having it often. It was the scene a few hours after the 'final battle', when he thought it'd all been over. How very wrong he'd been.

Voldemort's forces had attacked Hogwarts. It wasn't surprising; the school was the one place both Harry and Dumbledore were sure to be. The Dark Lord had ripped through the school's defensive wards, killing any student in his path. Throughout it all, his sole attention had been focused on Harry as he stood on the grounds with every single able-bodied witch or wizard-among them Harry's two best friends and former girlfriend. The students managed to slay the Death Eaters while Harry killed Voldemort, but at a terrible cost. Over half of them had been brutally tortured and murdered, including Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore.

In fact, the only one of Harry's friends that survived was Ginny, and he hadn't spoken to her in months. The thought sent him deeper into depression as he gulped his tea, welcoming the burning in his mouth and throat.

After he had learned of his friends' demise, he had holed himself up in Gryffindor tower, refusing to come out. The reporters, however, had had other ideas, and they began to actually break down the door in their haste to interview him. Not wanting to answer any questions, Harry had grabbed his Firebolt and flown out the window, not to be seen again until 2 hours later, where he was confronted by over 200 Inferi made from the bodies of his friends and comrades.

Nobody had ever found out who had done such a terrible deed, but the ministry suspected a group of Death Eaters who had avoided capture. Either way, Harry didn't really care. All that mattered was that he had been forced to kill each and every one of them. Even though he knew they'd already been dead, it still felt as though the blood was on his hands. Sighing, Harry went over to the sink and washed his cup.

"_What would my parents think of me now_?" he wondered to himself. "_A bitter, haunted man of seventeen years, hiding from the world in a beat-up cabin all alone._" Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, but he did not shed them. He hadn't cried when he found out his friends were dead, and he didn't intend to now. "_What's the point?_" he thought as he made his way back to his room. _"Crying solves nothing._"

Burying his face in his pillow, he willed himself to fall into a dreamless sleep. One filled with flying and broomsticks, and not with the demons of his past.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"James Michael Potter, pay attention!" snapped Remus for the thousandth time.

"Oh, sorry," the black-haired boy replied, coming out of his daze. At the werewolf's doubtful look, he explained. "Look, I just don't feel right, is all. I didn't mean to doze off."

"What do you mean, you don't feel right?" questioned Sirius, who was sitting across from James, his back to the fire. He looked at his friend worriedly.

"I dunno," James replied as he ran a hand through his hair. "Something's wrong. Well, maybe not _wrong_ exactly, just _off._ Yeah, that's it, something's off."

Remus studied him for a moment. "You sure you don't just have Dragonpox like Peter? Do you need to go home?"

"No, no!" James answered quickly, shaking his head. "I'm fine, really. Besides I want to spend Christmas with you guys, not cooped up in my room." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Imagine, three Marauders alone in the castle, with no one but Dumbledore for company."

Sirius and Remus smiled in relief, glad their friend wasn't sick. It was bad enough Peter couldn't stay, but to have James go home as well would ruin the fun.

"Yeah," Remus said as he stretched out in front of the common room fire. "It's great that everyone else went home. I mean, we really should have expected it. We are, after all, in the middle of a war, and everyone wants to see their families as often as they can."

"Except us," said Sirius, grinning.

"Except us," James agreed, a matching look on his face.

They lapsed into silence for a moment before Sirius rose from his chair. "Shall I fetch the map?" After receiving two nods of consent, he bounded up the stairs, coming down a few moments later with the Marauders Map in hand.

"You ready?" he asked Remus, who simply took out his wand as a response and began to speak. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Spirals of ink appeared on the parchment; swirling together to create a perfect map of Hogwarts. The brunette nodded in approval, then made it all disappear by saying, "Mischief managed." Immediately, it was blank again.

"Okay," he began, facing his friends. "We know that the map works. But now I think we need to add a little bit of Mooney, Prongs, and Padfoot to that bit of old parchment. Ready?"

"Ready," chorused James and Sirius, grinning madly.

"Righteo, chaps. I'll say the incantation, and then we'll each take a turn listing our own comments, which will appear on the map then fade and appear again at the appropriate timing. I'll go first, then James, then Sirius. Got it?"

"Aye, aye, Captain Moony," Sirius said impishly while James just nodded.

Rolling his eyes, Remus cast the spell. "_Wordio Copya_."

The map flashed bright green, then settled back into its normal color. Remus nodded to himself before saying, "Mr. Moony would like to greet the owner of this most extraordinary map." He watched as the words curled across the page.

"Mr. Prongs seconds that welcome," said James, not missing a beat. "And asks that the owner please state his or her name by writing it onto said parchment, so that we may know exactly who we have the honor to meet."

"Mr. Padfoot agrees with Misters Moony and Prongs," said Sirius, "and would also like to add that if said owner is a disgusting Slytherin, he would do well to put this down and walk away, lest he be insulted to the point of death by the marauders three."

At this, James stifled a snigger, and even Remus looked faintly amused. Just as he opened his mouth to begin the next line, slightly messy handwriting, differend from all the marauders, began to appear on the page.

"Don't worry. I'm in Gryffindor."

The three 17-year-olds looked at each other, startled. Bravely, Sirius asked, "Who are you?" The words faded on the parchment, only to be replaced by the words, "Who are _you_?"

Sirius looked to his friends for guidance. Deciding to take a chance, Remus replied, "Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin. Your turn." They waited with bated breath for a moment until more words appeared in that unknown script. "What year is it?"

Taken aback by the strange question, James answered, "1977."

Another breathless moment, then, "Oh. Wow. Um…it's the year 1998 here. Remus, you must have done the charm wrong."

The boys stared at each other, dumbstruck. For one thing, whoever was writing to them claimed to be from the future, 20 years into the future to be exact. Furthermore, he appeared to know who Remus was, or at least that he was the "smart one" of the group and therefore did a lot of the charm work. Coming to a decision, they nodded to each other and turned back to the map.

"How old are you?" asked Sirius, watching as the lazily-curled script melted into the page.

"17." Came the reply. "You?"

"Same," answered James. "Can you tell us apart?"

"Is this James?"

"Yes."

"Then yeah. The one who asked me how old I was was Sirius, and Remus is the other."

"How can you tell?" asked Remus, curious.

"You're handwriting's different." came the simple reply.

The werewolf nodded in agreement. "So, what's your name, anyway?" he asked.

Silence. The person on the other end didn't reply for a long time.

"Hello?" Sirius said, bored with waiting. "You there?"

"Yeah," came the reply, and the boys noticed it was slightly shaky, as if the writer couldn't grip the pen properly. "Yeah I'm here."

"Well then, answer the question," Sirius said irritably. "Who are you?"

Another long silence, then, "My name is Harry. Harry James Potter."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:Wow! That last chapter got a good response! Reminding you again this chapter, the pervious chapter and chapter 3 are not mine, but chapter 4 onwards will be. The real author of these first few chapters is Of-butterbeer-and-frogs who wasn't able to continue the story so gave it onto mwa. Check out the profile! Anyways enjoy!**

Chapter Two

"Dumbledore! Dumbledore!" Remus cried, pounding on the stone gargoyle that led to the headmaster's office. "Open up! It's urgent!"

James and Sirius stood by worriedly, wondering if they should help their friend beat the statue. Luckily, they were saved from having to make a decision by the timely appearance of Albus Dumbledore, who walked right past them and into his office, beckoning them to follow.

The door had barely closed behind them when the 3 boys all began to speak at once.

"Sir, there's this boy, Harry. He says he's from the future…!"

"…and we weren't doing anything wrong, no siree. Just sitting in the Gryffindor common room, minding our own business when…"

"…recognized us by our handwriting. And then Sirius-"

"Enough," Dumbledore said firmly, holding up his hand for silence. He looked at Remus. "Mr. Lupin, if you would be so kind as to explain?"

Immediately, the werewolf began to speak. "You see, sir; James, Sirius, Peter and I created an enchanted map of Hogwarts. We were putting the finishing touches on it when it began to…um…talk back. Well," he hastily corrected as he saw the old man's confused look. "It _wrote_ back, I guess. We found out that the person writing is 17 years old, a Gryffindor at Hogwarts, and is named Harry. Oh yeah," he added as an afterthought. "He's also James' son from 20 years into the future."

The headmaster surveyed them from overtop his glasses. Finally, he held out a hand and said, "May I see the map?"

Sirius gave it to him grudgingly, unhappy at the prospect that the headmaster of the school knew of their most prized possession.

"Hmmm, excellent spell work boys," Dumbledore complimented, waving his wand over the parchment in random patterns. "A lot of work went into this. I assume you know the spell you used that triggered this strange occurrence?"

"Yes, sir," said James. "It's _Wordio Copya_."

"Ah, the copying spell," the man said. He made a circular motion with his wand before repeating the spell. _"Wordio Copya_!"

Once again, the map flashed green before fading back to a pale yellow.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore," he said, gazing at the map intently. "May I inquire as to who you are?"

The words disappeared and were replaced by a much messier scrawl.

"Harry James Potter. Son of James and Lily Potter." A pause, then, "Hello Albus. It's nice to speak with you again, although I wish it were under different circumstances, seeing as how we're separated by two decades."

The headmaster smiled slightly, then turned back to the boys. "He is who he claims to be. You seem to have caused much more trouble, however, then I think you realize. The ministry works very hard to keep things like this from happening." Sirius and Remus nodded, chastised, but James was in a state of shock.

"Lily?" he asked the parchment. "As in Lily Evans?"

"Yup," came the reply. "You two get together seventh year. The year you're in now, actually, if I'm not mistaken."

Sirius grinned and pounded James on the back, while Remus adopted a look of sympathy. "Tell me, Harry, do they fight all the time?"

The others looked toward the map, curious as to the answer.

"No," came the short response.

"Really?" Sirius questioned doubtfully. "'Cause they sure do fight an awful lot right now, and I can't imagine them suddenly backing off, even if they _are_ in love."

Silence, then, "I don't think this is a good idea. I should go."

The others were taken aback, even Albus was surprised.

"Mr. Potter," he said, causing James to start a little. "Although I do admit this is slightly dangerous, rest assured that anything you say that may change the future will be erased from all our memories at the end of break. For now, though, please indulge us with accounts of your time. I dare say you will find it quite enjoyable as well." His eyes twinkled brightly.

Another long pause, then, "Look, I'm sorry. Really, I am. But the future's not pretty, not by a long shot. I just don't want you to worry over things you can't control."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "I see your point, Mr. Potter, but will it matter in the end? After all, our memories will be modified. And if the future is as you claim it to be, perhaps we can work out a way to change it. It's not every day magic is capable of going back decades into the past. I'd advise you to think about it a bit before you make a decision."

An entire minute passed by before the reply came. "Alright, Albus. I'll think about it. But I won't guarantee anything."

The wizards (Albus included) were ecstatic at the chance to learn of the future, through James' son, no less. "That's all we can ask, Mr. Potter."

"Yes. I suppose. Now I think I'll be going. I'll get back to you as soon as I make a decision."

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

And the map was blank again.

"Well," Sirius said slowly after a few minutes of silence. "That was…interesting."

Remus snorted. "We find out that James has a son in a few years, who is now talking to us through the Marauders Map from 2 decades into the future, which, I might add, is so horrible that the kid doesn't even want to discuss it with us. And all you can say is 'That was interesting?'"

Sirius shrugged. "Sorry, Moony, but not everyone is as articulate as you."

The werewolf rolled his eyes, then turned to James. "And what do you make of it, Prongs? He is, after all, your son."

James sighed wistfully, his eyes shining brighter than Dumbledore's. "I have a son," he said. "I have a son with Lily Evans. My life is now complete."

"Oh, shut it you prat," said Sirius as he hit his friend over the head. "Remember that Evans hates you right now."

"I don't care," the black-haired teenager replied. "She'll learn to love me."

Remus sighed. "Come on, James, let's get you back to the common room before you faint." He grabbed one of his friend's arms, Sirius taking the other.

"We'll let you know his decision as soon as we can, sir," the latter said, looking at Dumbledore, who nodded. And, with that, the trio headed to Gryffindor tower, but not before making a quick stop in the kitchens for a few pitchers of coffee. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much for all the suppport (although you didn't review!). 26 people have alerted this story. It may be a little while (two or three weeks) before the next update, I'm training for Optimist Nationals which is next week and in Christchurch (the otherside of the country). So be patient!**

"I can't believe it," Harry thought as he paced in front of the fire. "I just can't believe it. It's got to be a trick; a fluke or something. This can't actually be happening." He stopped and stared into the flames. "But when I spoke with them, they seemed so real, so _sincere_. And stranger stuff has happened to me…" He sighed and sank down onto the couch. "Well, first things first, I suppose. I'd better find out whether or not this thing is real."

He picked up the map and began to write…

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The three Marauders were seated in a circle in front of the common room fire, the map and a pitcher of coffee in the center. They had long since lapsed into silence, each content to just stare into space and think about what the future held.

Suddenly, words began to appear on the map.

"I need to speak with Albus Dumbledore."

The boys glanced at each other before grabbing the map and dashing to the headmaster's office. Maybe they would finally get some answers…

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Harry set his quill down and stared at the parchment, waiting for a reply. He was not disappointed. Not two minutes later an elegant script appeared on the map, the ink flowing gracefully across the page.

"I am Albus Dumbledore. You wish to speak with me?"

Taking a deep breath, Harry wrote the words he knew would change his life.

"I'm ready."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The four wizards crowded around the headmaster's desk glanced at each other excitedly. They would get to know James's son! Not only that, but they would find out a little about the future, maybe even about themselves. The boys were barely able to keep themselves from snatching the parchment and writing the hundreds of questions spinning through their heads. Instead, they stared at the parchment as more words formed.

"But I need to make sure this is real first."

James's heart sank. Here he had thought that he could've known his son, his own _son_! But first the boy wanted proof that they were real. How could they prove that? His unspoken question was answered when Harry continued.

"The phoenix flies to heaven's door."

The boys looked at each other, confused. But Albus answered without hesitation.

"And guards the gates forevermore."

"Thank you, Albus. Please excuse my paranoia, but you never can be too careful."

"I understand," Albus replied graciously. Then he asked, to the astonishment of the marauders, "You are a soldier in the Order of the Phoenix, then?"

The 17-year-olds stared at the headmaster, mouths agape. A soldier? This boy, the same age as themselves, was part of the Order?

"Not exactly."

Remus, James, and Sirius sighed in relief. The Order was a dangerous operation; it would have been the boy's death sentence had he joined at such a young age.

But the wording of the reply piqued Remus' never-ending curiosity. "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?"

There was a long pause, then, "I was in the Order, but I wasn't a soldier."

By this time even Albus was confused. "What are you then, a general?" The idea was almost laughable. As if a mere 17-year-old could become a general…

"No. I was the commander."

Needless to say, the occupants of the office were gob smacked.

"A _commander_?!?!" choked James. "You're the bloody _commander _of the Order of the Phoenix?!?"

"Was," corrected Harry. "The Order dissipated about three months ago."

"Why?" asked Sirius, speaking up for the first time that morning. "Has Voldemort won?"

"Quite the contrary," came the reply. "Voldemort hasn't won. In fact, we haven't seen him for a long time. About five months, I think."

"Is he planning something?" asked Remus worriedly. The others looked to the map, dread filling their stomachs. What could the Dark Lord possibly be planning that would take him five months to think about?

"No, actually. He's dead."

"Dead?!?" asked Sirius incredulously. "As in buried? Gone? Pushing up daisies?"

"Yup."

"Who killed him?" asked James. "Who could be powerful enough to defeat the most evil wizard in history? Professor Dumbledore?" As one, the three turned to look at the headmaster.

"No, not Albus."

"Then who?" Their curiosity was nearly overwhelming. Who could have killed such a powerful wizard?

"Me."

And James collapsed in a dead faint.


	4. Chapter 4

****

AN: Wow! Thanks for the awesome response I've gotten from all the readers that have lead to 81 alerts, 24 reviews, 20 favourites, 2619 hits and 8 C2's. Phew, what a mouthful!

**Anyways I thought I should repay you by ACTUALLY updating… I've had the most part of this chapter written (on scrap paper) for I dunno, a month but sort of forgot about it. Oops! Plus school has been extremely hectic as of late and I was studying very hard for my mid-year exams (it was a relief when I passed them all (to say the least)). **

**Well now it's school holidays and after exams I meant to get this up earlier but I happened to misplace my scribblings and only found them an hour ago. Sorry if the chapters short but I kind of had to end it off hereish otherwise the chapter wouldn't be up for another few days. Don't worry I'll keep writing with the next chapter… But if you want it up within the next week then please, please, PLEASE review! :-) Well that's enough of me and my babbling. Have fun with this teensy titbit of a chapter!**

* * *

'James! JAMES!' Sirius yelled, shaking his friend's shoulders vigorously. 'Prongs, you sissy, wake-up!' With this remark he upended a conjured bucket of water on top of James.

James sat bolt upright, spluttering, before whacking Sirius on the arm. 'What'd you do that for, idiot?!'

'You bloody fainted on me!'

'But you didn't have to tip a whole bucket of water on top of me!'

'You wouldn't wake up!'

'Moron.'

'Sissy.'

'Numb-skull.'

'Dumb-ass!'

James coughed and smirked at that remark. 'Well I can't be that much of a dumb-ass coz I still manage to land Lily Evans _and _my kid ends up defeating the darkest wizard of all time…'

'Touché,' Sirius replied with a grin before turning back to Remus and Dumbledore who were still staring, dumbfounded, at the map.

* * *

Harry waited patiently for the Marauders to reply. _Damn _he thought as he sat, staring at the map. _I shouldn't have told them so early! Now I've lost the only connection to my father… and the men who've willing played his part in my life…_

Harry covered his face in his hands. _Well I might as well try and fix this. _He picked up his quill and nervously scribbled: 'Hello? Is anyone there?'

It took a few moments before an answer came, in Remus's handwriting.

'Sorry about that. Needless to say, your news cam as a surprise and James… well…'

'What happened?' Harry asked, his gut wrenching with dread and he feared the worst.

'He, uh, fainted.'

* * *

'Moony!' exclaimed James, hitting his friend on the back of his head. 'You weren't supposed to tell him!'

'He seems worried,' Sirius grinned after reading Harry's reply (What?!). He leaned in and spoke to the parchment. 'It's ok, he's fine now, well if you call throwing a hissy fit and physically abusing me and Remus fine. He wouldn't wake up for a while there, but don't worry, I sorted him out.'

'How?'

Sirius looked over at James, and evil look on his face, and James mouthed back: 'Don't you dare,' along with his best death glare.

* * *

'You know, the usual. A conjured bucket of water dumped over his head did the trick. He deserved it anyway for being such a sissy.'

As Harry read Sirius's words the first smile he'd had in months grew upon his face.

As he began to think over how much this connection had improved his mood and outlook on life a new message came through, and this time in was in the fine loopy scrawl of Albus Dumbledore.

'As you may have noticed Mr. Potter we have digressed from the original subject quite greatly. I am not sure about my companions here but I for one would like to know more about the progress of the war in the future.'

Harry sighed, his quill hovering about the map. 'I'm not sure to start… Maybe if you ask me questions and I answer them?'

_Well,_ he thought as he waited for the first question to come through the connection of the two times. _This is definitely going to take a while…_

**AN: Hope it wasn't too terrible for your liking! Please click the little review button if you want the next chapter up ASAP! Ciao!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Shock Horror! I actually update in a semi-reasonable length of time. Thank you for all the support – it gives me the drive to keep on writing when all you lovely reviewers out there keep on with those reviews! If I had a thousand cookies (which unfortunately I don't) they'd all be going out to you guys! I am continually amazed by the amount of people that actually **_**want**_** to read my story. Now I know that the last chapter was unforgivably short and so with great pleasure I bring you… drum roll please… Lost in Writings longest chapter yet! I hope you enjoy :-)**

* * *

_Finally! _Thought James as he read Harry's latest response _I can get some real answers about my son!_

Alike thoughts were running through the other three heads as they tried to think of questions to ask the mysterious boy of the future. It was harder than it looked.

Remus leant down to the parchment. 'How long does the war go on for? I know you said that Voldemort was killed a few months ago but…' he stopped as Harry's scrawled answer began to appear on the page.

'It's ok, I know what you mean. Well actually the war you're in at the moment, the First War, ended when I was a baby. Voldemort first 'died' on the 31st of October 1981. There was a sort of… for want of a better word, intermission, in the war until the end of my fifth year (1995). Voldemort actually returned at the end of my fourth year (1994) but the Minster of Magic at the time – Cornelius Fudge – refused to believe it and a full-out, open war was delayed for about a year. Of course Voldemort used this as time to regain his strength and followers while the Order of the Phoenix tried to stop him doing so. It's all actually a lot more complicated than that but I'm digressing really heavily…' Harry's answer trailed off.

The four read over Harry's answer with open mouths. Questions sprung to their minds easily now, and they were all in awe of the future ahead.

'What do you mean Voldemort 'died'?' James asked quickly. 'Did he partially die? Is that even _possible_?'

'Er... it's a long story… but it's important… Voldemort went to the greatest lengths to become immortal and so split his soul five times to create objects called 'Horcruxes'. You know of Horcruxes by now don't you Dumbledore?'

The three boys were horrified and disgusted that someone would willingly split their soul to be immortal. Dumbledore leant into the paper, 'Yes, of course. But to split his soul five times? That's unheard of, not to mention extremely dangerous…'

'Yeah, well, Voldemort didn't seem to know or care about that part, and it's not like he found it hard to find five people to kill for the horcruxes…'

'You need to _kill _people to make the horcruxes?' Remus asked in a horrified voice.

'Yeah, it's the only way to split your soul. Then you hide your soul in a tangible object so if you die you can't die completely. In Voldemort's words: '_less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost_' - but still alive. There's a lot more to it but we don't need to go into all the minor details.'

'You seem to know a lot about them,' accused Sirius sceptically, much to James's disapproval.

'You'd hope I would owing to the fact that it was me who tracked of Voldemort's horcruxes down and destroyed them.'

'You destroyed all five of Voldemort's horcruxes?' James asked weakly.

'Well it was seven by then,' corrected Harry. 'And I had help.'

'You said it was only five!'

'That was when he was first stopped. We're digressing from the question really heavily you know.' Harry added.

'Go on then.'

'Well there had been a prophecy made, or I guess for you 'will be' a prophecy made – basically saying the a child born at the end of July, to parents who had thrice-defied Voldemort would end up either killing Voldemort or dieing at this hands. However, the description fit two babies; Neville Longbottom…'

'Is he Frank and Alice's kid? Because they just got together.' asked Remus. 'Just out of interest you know…'

'Yeah he is.'

'The other baby was you wasn't it,' stated Sirius.

'Yes.'

'So did Voldemort have to choose between the two infants?' Dumbledore questioned.

'Yeah. But no-one knew who he'd pick and both families went into hiding under the Fidelius Charm. You know what that is right?'

'Yup. Flitwick was harping on about it in Charms a while back,' grumbled James. 'Shit! Sorry professor. We have charms homework due at the end of the break, and it's a bloody 6 foot long essay too! How the hell are we going to find time for that?!'

'I'm sure, Mr Potter, that Professor Flitwick will not mind if the essay is a day or two late, if I speak to him about it. As would any other assignments…'

Dumbledore was cut off by the celebrations that James and Sirius had begun. They quickly turned serious again as Remus as Harry another question through the map.

'But if the Fidelius charm is as powerful as Professor Flitwick says it is then Voldemort can't have got the boys. I'm sure Lily and James would have picked a good secret-keeper, as would have Frank and Alice.'

'I'm not sure about the Longbottoms because Voldemort didn't end up going after them. He chose me as the prophecy child because I was a half-blood. Like him.'

'Voldemort's a half-blood?' Sirius asked incredulously.

'Yes. His mother was Merope Gaunt, a pure-blood and descendent of Slytherin but she fell in love with the muggle son of the Lord of the village where she lived. She named Voldemort after his father – Tom Riddle and that's why he changed his name to Voldemort. Tom Marvolo Riddle, his full name, is actually an anagram of I am Lord Voldemort.'

'What does this all have to do with the first downfall of Voldemort anyway?' James asked, confused, 'If Lily and I were under the Fidelius charm then Voldemort obviously couldn't get to us. Sirius would never tell, would he?'

'Of course I wouldn't,' said Sirius quickly. 'You're my best mate!'

'Sirius wasn't the secret-keeper.' Harry interrupted.

'What?!' cried Sirius and James. 'Did we have a fight or something?' James asked worriedly.

'No, no, nothing like that. You and Lily asked Sirius to be your secret-keeper, actually, but Sirius came up with another idea.'

'I bet you it's something really smart if I came up with it,' Sirius said proudly.

'The idea was to make Wormtail, that's Peter Pettigrew Professor, the secret-keeper because no-one would suspect someone like him to be trusted with the role. Sirius you went into hiding too, so Voldemort would think the secret-keeper was you.'

'See, told you it was smart.' Sirius said, not realizing that Harry had yet to finish.

'What you didn't know was that Wormtail was a stinking death-eater. He didn't give a damn about your lives.' The words were written with a shaky hand and it could be seen that Harry was trying to compress his anger.

'What?' James yelled. 'All we've done to help Peter and he goes and joins them?'

'He was always weak-willed James,' Remus reprimanded. 'We all know it.'

'So did he, you know, rat us out to Voldemort?' James asked, desperately clinging to false hopes.

'Yes. On Halloween night, 1981 he came to the house, it's in Godrics Hollow by the way,' before Harry could finish he was interrupted again, this time by Sirius.

'But isn't that supposed to be when Voldemort first met his downfall?'

'Yeah.' There was a pause in the writing before Harry continued. 'You need to be sure you want to know the future, as I said – it's not pretty.'

'Harry we went over this. We can handle it alright?'

'Ok then. Well Voldemort entered the house and James you told mum, Lily to take me and you'd hold him off. Mum ran upstairs with me and Voldemort, er, killed you James because he was after me and you were in his way.'

There was silence as Harry stopped writing to let that sink in and as the four stood there in shock.

'I…I die?' James repeated blankly. 'In four years?'

'Yeah, look I'm really sorry dad, James, I didn't think this was a good idea, and…'

James cut him off. 'You warned us and we said we could handle it. Don't apologize. I died trying to save my wife and son and that's not such a bad thing.' James took a deep breath before grinning weakly. '_I'm _sorry that you never got to grow up with my everlasting wit and fabulous advice.' He looked over at the other three, in particular Remus and Sirius.

'Sorry guys but it looks as though I'll be ditching you in four years. You need to promise me that you'll coach the Wizarding World through their grief.' He turned back to the paper as they all chuckled, if a bit tearily. 'Well don't stop now Harry.'

'I'm sorry to disappoint… but it doesn't get any better, for anything it gets worse.'

'Go on, you can't pull out now,' Sirius urged.

(1)

'Well Voldemort followed mum up to my bedroom and she put me in my cot, and you know, begged for my life. Voldemort, he killed her too, but when doing so invoked powerful ancient magic which comes form a sacrifice of pure love. He then went on to kill me but the killing curse didn't work, because of her sacrifice, and it rebounded off my forehead leaving a lightning bolt scar and hitting Voldemort. In which the first downfall of Voldemort came about, I gained the wonderful title 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', became an orphan and was sent to live with my only living relatives – who happened to be Petunia and Vernon Dursley. They pretty much hated me for being a wizard and I slept in the cupboard under the stairs until I was 11 and Hagrid came to tell me that 1- I was a wizard and 2- he was taking me to Hogwarts. Oh and 3 – that I was famous because I supposedly defeated the Darkest Wizard of All Time and was the only known person to survive the killing curse. That pretty much explains the first 11 years of my life.' (2)

The four stared down at Harry's long, sarcastic and slightly (3) cynical response. There was a pregnant pause before he was bombarded with a heap of questions.

'You slept in a cupboard!'

'What do you mean you didn't know you were a wizard?'

'Lily died too?'

'Why did you live with _muggles_? You could have lived with me or Remus!'

'Well that might have been possible if Remus didn't have his… furry little problem and if Sirius wasn't incarcerated just after your deaths… You guys really need to calm down, yes I did sleep in a cupboard, I meant _I didn't know I was a wizard_ believe it or not, I'm sorry but she really did, is that good enough for you?' Even though his message was brought through on parchment his amusement was evident.

'Sirius,' James reprimanded. 'I thought we agreed that illegal activities is where we drew the line. At least if you're going to get caught.' He grinned and shoved Sirius before conjuring chairs and slouching down into one. 'There's no point standing around all night,' he said, gesturing at the chairs.

'Now,' James said to the map after everyone had sat down. 'How long did old Padfoot get chucked in prison for?'

'Life,' was Harry's simple answer.

Silence reigned in both time frames.

'He didn't listen to the officials though,' Harry continued in an attempt to break the silence. 'He broke out in my third year at Hogwarts – with his sanity intact, believe it or not. If you didn't already know he _was_ the first person to ever break out of Azkaban.'

'What did he do that was bad enough to get him a life sentence?' James asked, looking over at his friend, whose face had turned a ghastly pale shade of white, and whose hands were quivering as he mouthed silently '12 years…'

'Nothing but trusting that stinking rat Wormtail. I'm sorry if I offend you, I know he's your friend and everything, but after all he's done…' The writing broke off and there was a moment of blank paper before Harry continued.

'After Voldemort had come and killed James and Lily, Sirius, you went after Pettigrew and… met up with him in a fairly busy street. You confronted him but before you could day anything he yelled out something along the lines of: 'How could you Sirius! Lily and James!' And cut off his finger while using his wand backwards pointing down the street ad causing an explosion – making it look like you did it to kill him. All they could find of him of course was the finger as he had transformed at the last minute and run down the sewers. The explosion killed 13 muggles and left a street full of witnesses all convinced that you did it. So Sirius – you were innocent and that's what kept you sane all those years.'

There was a tense silence before James growled, 'I'm going to go kill that dirty traitor right now.' He stood up but before he could anywhere Sirius's hand shot out and pulled him down again.

''It's ok James,' he said wearily. 'He hasn't done anything yet…'

Dumbledore spoke. 'And time won't let you. As we spoke of at the beginning, the thread of time will not allow us to change the future in any way, and if we attempt to do so all memories of this meeting will be erased from our mind. But I do have a question for you Harry – why and how _did _Sirius break out of Azkaban. As you said, he was the first ever to escape and, no offence to you Mr. Black, much more-powerful wizards have been imprisoned in Azkaban before.'

'Well…'

* * *

**AN: ****Sorry! Had to break it off there or I would have spent another week writing out Harry's explanation and broken all my promises. So really it's in your best interests. And you can't say that it was too short because it was a lot longer than my other chapters! I think I'll have only one or two more chapters centred on explanations – then I'll get into the nitty/gritty sorting out of one very messed up Harry Potter! Of course, my buddy's from the past will help (so all those who want more James/Harry interaction don't worry it's coming!). And maybe one (still alive) red-head beauty from his own time ;-). But I've said too much already.**

**Just a few notes****/comments:**

**(1) I considered, rather evilly, but not very seriously, to put in here Harry saying. 'Well this would be a lot easier for me if I sent this box of books though the connection instead…' bit decided against it as I could almost hear the groans of the readers.**

'**No, not another story succumbing to the disease of 'The Marauders read Harry Potter and the …'**

**I guess, if I had the time, effort and support (which I probably will not) I could write a spinoff series once this is all done and dusted… Lol, nope probably not. :-) Sorry to disappoint!**

**(2) Man what a bloody long speech! Harry really needs to learn how to take out the details! E.G. Voldemort killed my parents but couldn't kill me, I became famous, I didn't know I was a wizard until I was 11, my Aunt and Uncle are horrible people. And that's about it. ;-) Lolz**

**(3) Yeah right!**

**Well I hope you enjoyed it – I certainly found it easy to write!**

**(BTW - We've (wooh!) surpassed the 100 alert mark – lets see if we can get those reviews up past 50 (at least!). If you liked the fast update then make sure you review because all your lovely words on the last chapter definitely pushed me on! So click that little button and review!!)**


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